Automatic fire extinguisher



(No- Model.)

J. HILL.

AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHER;

No. 329,311. Patented Oct. 27, 1885.

li/e/verdor ilivirnn STATES PATENT truce.

JOHN HILL, OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA.

AUTOMATIC FIRE-EXTINGUISHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 329,311. dated October 27, 1885.

Serial No. 158,547. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN HILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbus, Muscogee county, Georgia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Fire- Extinguishers, ofwhich the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to automatic apparatus for extinguishing fires, and the purpose thereof is to provide means whereby the extinguishing-fluid is conducted under pressure in suitable pipes to the point or points where its use may be required,andis there automatically liberated by the fusion of ajoint confining the valve.

It is a further purpose of my invention to combine with a suitable conveyer containing an extinguishing liquid under pressure a valve mounted upon a stem which is held in position by a sectional disk, having its sections united by a fusible metal, and a spring underlying the jointed disk, whereby upon fusion its points will be thrown off their support and the valve liberated.

It is also a purpose of my invention to OOll1- bine with an apparatus of thekind mentioned a deflecting-disk, whereby the escaping stream will be distributed in lines radiating from the axis of the valve-stem and scattered in sub stantially equal portions over the surrounding area.

My invention consists in the several novel features of construction and combinations of parts,hereinafter fully set forth,and definitely pointed out in the claims annexed hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of an'automatic apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the position of the parts after fusion of thejoints uniting the sections of the holding-disk. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the distributer or sprinkler detached. Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively a plan and a section of the sectional disk which supports the valvestem. Fig. 7 is a plan view of the seat for the spring underlying the sectional disk. Figs. 8 and 9 are respectively a side elevation and plan of the spring.

111 the said drawings the reference-numeral 1 denotes an open metallic frame or yoke,preferably made in a single piece, whereof the lower arm, 1", is provided with acylindrical chamber, 2, closed at the bottom by a screwplug, 3, and having surrounding its upper extremity an enlarged annular table, 4, provided with a channel or groove, 5. The upper arm of the frame is constructed with a cylindrical chamber, 6, which communicates with ashell, 7, having a pipe-coupling, 8. At the upper end of the chamber 6 is formed a valve-seat, 9, which receives a valve, 10, closing the communication between said chamber and the pipe-coupling. The pipe connected with the latter leads from the reservoir in which the extinguishing-fluid is preserved, and which is not shown.

Upon the annular table 4 rests a disk, 11, constructed in two or more separate sections, 11, which are united to each other and t0 the seat and valve-stem by a fusible metal, 12. Beneath the disk,and lying within the groove 5,is an annular spring, 13, which is preferably made of metahand in the form shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the former figure showing the shape which the elastic annulus normally assumes when not confined by the disk. The disk 11 hasacentral perforation, 14,countersunk upon its upper side to receive the conical end of the valve-stern 15, the arrangement of parts being such that when the disk is in place as an entirety it will support the valve 10 in such P sition as to close the port leading from the supply-pipe or pipe-coupling. Upon the stem of the valve, and just beneath the open end of the chamber 6, is mounted a deflector or distributor,16.which consists,substantially, of a disk provided with a flange, 17, having at suitable intervals openings 18, arranged in lines forming a small angle with the radii of the annular disk. By this formation it will readily be seen that the action of the escaping fluid, when the valve 10 is opened, will give to the deflector 16 a vibratory motion, which is allowed by reason of the fact that the moment the valve 10 is unseated the valve-stem is at liberty to turn upon its own axis, and by the action of the deflector-valve upon the escaping fluids the stem also has imparted to it a vibratory motion. This vibration gives a widespread and complete sprinkling of the extinguishing-fluid over the area surrounding the point occupied by any one of the sprinklers thus described.

Upon the valve 10 is mounted a soft-metal disk, 19, formed of solder, lead, or other suitable material, the pressure of the valve forming the metal 19 accurately to the seat, and drawing the soft metal around the engaging surfaces of the valve.

I do not as a rule solder the spring 13 to the recess 5, but leave it unattached. When, however, unusual strength is required because of high pressurefapplied to the extinguishingfluid,caused by the impact poundings of said fluids in the pipes and on the valve, or by other conditions, I may in such cases solder the spring in place and relieve the disk 11 of its tension, while at the same time the solder employed may form part of the joints uniting the sections of the disk. The plug 3, closing the bottom of the chamber 2, serves as a stop and step for the valve-stem. The opening closed by the plug 3 is convenient in the construction of the chambers and table embodied in the frame, and may be used, if necessary, to adjust the plug in such manner as to impart pressure to the valve-stem 15, in order to seat the valve and to hold the parts in place when forming the fusible joints of the sectional disk. The solder ordinarily used by me in forming these joints softens at about 145 to 150 Fahrenheit, and melts at 160 to 170 Fahrenheit. The valve is held closed upon its seat by the sectional disk, which is so located that it is at a material distance from the water-supply, and is thereby rendered far more sensitive to heat. When the heat from a conflagration causes the solder-joints to melt, the pressure from the fluid in the pipe which bears upon the valve 10, together with the tension of the annular spring 13,will cause a sudden rupture of the joints uniting the parts of the sectional disk, this action being aided by the peculiar form of the lower end of the valve-stem,which tends normally to disrupt the separable disk. The instant this is effected the pressure of the fluid unseats the valve and a discharge takes place over the deflector. By this construction I avoid the danger of a leak of water, which,

if it runs into the connected parts, will in time unite them by oxidation so firmly as to prevent the automatic opening of the valve.

It will readily be se n that while the deflector 16 may be made as shown in Fig. 4,it may also be made with the openings in its flange in true radial lines. In the former case the escape of the water will give the disk a rotary movement, whereas in the latter it will not rotate. It will be seen that the annular spring when placed beneath the disk will be free from all danger of oxidation by the atmosphere or by leakage from the valve. The spring 13 is so arranged with relation to the divided disk that the spring acts upon both or all parts of the sectional disk simultaneously, thus throwing the whole of the valve-stem support at the same instant. is such that it will act to disrupt the disk a little before the actual point of fusion is reached.

I have described the automatic device as attached to apipe having the extinguishing-fluid under pressure; but it may be used when the pressure is not exerted until after the fusible joints have been ruptured. It is evident, also, that the channel receiving the spring may be omitted, and the movable portion ofthesolderjoint may be recessed to receive said spring. It will be seen that by closing the joint between the disk 11 and the annular table 4 by solder or other fusible metal a sealed inclosure may be given the spring 13, whereby all possible danger of oxidation, either by the atmosphere or by water, is avoided.

What I claim is 1. In an automatic fire-extinguisher, a sectional disk supporting the inlet-valve, and a spring underlying said disk, substantially as described.

2. In an automatic fireextinguisher, the combination, with a valve closing an inlet-pipe containing extinguishing-fluid under pressure, of a disk which supports the stem of said valve, and a spring underlying said disk and sealed in a recess in the support upon which the disk rests, substantially as described.

3. In an automatic fire-extinguisher, the combination, with an inlet-pipe containing an extinguishing-fluid under pressure, of a valve closing said pipe, a disk composed of separable sections united by a fusible metal, and a spring underlying said disk and sealed in a groove in the support upon which said spring rests, substantially as described.

4. In an automatic fire-extinguisher, the combination, with an inlet-pipe containing the extinguishing fluid, of a valve closing said pipe, a diskcomposed of two or more separable sections united by a fusible metal, and having a countersunk opening to receive the conical end of the valve-stem, and a spring under tension underlying said sectional disk and rupturing the same upon the fusion of the joint, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN HILL.

Witnesses:

HENRY BRUCE,

G. GUNLY'ENDUR.

The tension of the annular spring 13 1 

